Discover how the Mayan culture relies on plants and herbs for everything from medicine to food to cosmetics. Embark on a journey of the senses through stunning medicinal gardens and interactive discussions with indigenous healers highlighting the rejuvenating and healing powers of plants and herbs used in tea, tinctures, creams, salves, and lotions.

Guatemala Medicinal Herbal Tours 3-DAY TOUR

Join ‘Grow Your Own Cure’ for this unique 3-day tour that will immerse you in a journey where you will experience personal interaction designed to introduce you to Mayan indigenous herbal healing wisdom, explore medicinal gardens surrounding Lake Atitlán, and experience the local culture first hand.

Learn what plants and herbs are revered most by the curanderos/healers and how these plants and herbs heal us from the inside out. Demystify, understand and get to know and experience plants and herbs that have been used for generations as food and medicine and how you can utilize them in your own life.

This is an opportunity to partake in local culture as well as to learn what traditional healers utilize in their own practices and how you can apply them to your life.

Itinerary Day 1: We will meet at 9:00am at the ‘Pharmacy of Herbs – Grow Your Own Cure’ store conveniently located half a block from the lake shore at Casa Loma, Rancho Grande, Panajachel.

After a tour of the store we will embark on a 30-minute boat ride enjoying spectacular views of the volcanoes and mountains as we make our way to San Marcus, on the north shore of Lake Atitlán known for its yoga, meditation, spiritual and holistic therapies.

There we will visit a local clinic, meet with the doctor, tour the medicinal garden, and learn about the growing, drying, storing, packaging, and making of teas, tinctures, creams, and salves . Participants will have the opportunity to partake in an herbal consultation with the doctor for an additional fee.

No visit to Lake Atitlan is complete without a meal. We will enjoy a delicious tipico Guatemalan lunch at a local comedor.

We will return by boat to Panajachel.

Itinerary Day 2: We will meet at 9:00am at the ‘Pharmacy of Herbs – Grow Your Own Cure’ store. We will then embark on a 45-minute boat ride enjoying spectacular views of the volcanoes and mountains as we make our way to San Pedro La Laguna, on the west shore of Lake Atitlán.

San Pedro La Laguna is one of the larger villages on the lake having a population of 10,000 whose inhabitants are primarily Tz’utujil Maya. The village of San Pedro is known for their curanderos/healers.

We will begin our exploration with a visit to a medicinal garden where we will meet with a local indigenous healer who uses the leaves, seeds, stems, bark and roots of herbs to treat illness and disease. Walking in the aromatic medicinal garden you will be greeted by the fragrance of the herbs. The garden is alive with some common herbs such as lemon grass and chamomile as well as many rare and little-known medicinal plants.

You will participate in a hands-on preparation of externally used herbal medicines making salves and liniments.

No visit to Lake Atitlan is complete without a meal. Next, we will enjoy a delicious tipico Guatemalan lunch at a local comedor.

We will then travel to the adjoining village of San Juan La Laguna where we will visit a medicinal garden that is run by a local women’s cooperative. You will have an opportunity to tour the gardens, learn about the herbs and their uses, as well learn about their belief in caring for the land with love, and without harming it by using pesticides and synthetic fertilizers.

We will return by boat to Panajachel.

Itinerary Day 3: We will meet at 9:00am at the ‘Pharmacy of Herbs – Grow Your Own Cure’ store. We will then embark on a 45-minute boat ride enjoying spectacular views of the volcanoes and mountains as we make our way to Santiago Atitlán, the largest of the lake communities, with a strong indigenous identity.

Our cultural tour will introduce you to the traditions, history, sublime food, spectacular scenery, and hand-made crafts of theMayan people allowing you to gain a real insight into this wonderfully rich culture.

Witness daily life and celebrate the colorful culture of the indigenous people as it unfolds right before your eyes. View villagers going about their daily life, listen to the sounds of their language, visit the local market and church, view the beautiful traje (traditional dress), learn about Maximón their rum loving saint who has evolved into a blend between Mayan and Catholic deity, savor traditional Mayan food, and have close-up encounters with men who fish from hand-hewn cayukas as they have for centuries.

No visit to Lake Atitlan is complete without a meal. We will enjoy a delicious tipico Guatemalan lunch at a local comedor.

We will return by boat to Panajachel.

General Information

Tour Time:9:00am – 4:00pm*

Inclusions: The cost of this tour includes an English speaking guide, all entrance fees, guided tour, lunch and all boat and tuk tuk transportation.

Recommendations: Wear comfortable walking shoes, a hat and sun screen. Camera is advised as is a bottle of water. Also bring extra cash for shopping as credit cards are not accepted at most locations. Donations or gift purchases are encouraged at the cooperatives.

For almost 20 years, Amalia Moreno-Damgaard was an important executive in various banks in the Midwest. With a master’s degree in international business and culture, advising companies and recommending international financial strategies was her world. However, Amalia had a strong passion for cooking, which began when she was a little girl and lived with her maternal grandmother in Quezaltepeque, a town in the department of Chiquimula in eastern Guatemala. When her son Jens was born, Amalia felt a need to switch careers and, following her instinct and passion for cooking, graduated from Le Cordon Bleu. Today, Amalia is a talented chef and business woman who promotes Latino cuisine and culture, as well as more wholesome cooking in general with private, business and consulting events in the state of Minnesota, where she lives with her family.

We spoke with Chef Amalia about Guatemalan cuisine, her favorite dishes and the ingredients she misses most from her homeland. “Guatemalan cuisine has its roots in Mayan culture and civilization, but also has contributions from Spaniards, who in turn brought dishes and traditions from the Arabs, Italians, Greeks and others,” said the chef, who loves cooking. “On the other hand, we also have influences from the cuisine of the Garifuna, an Afro-Caribbean group who settled in the region.” The chef divides Guatemalan cuisine into five categories: native cuisine, which originated with the Mayas; traditional cuisine, a combination of native and Spanish cuisine; homemade cuisine, Spanish dishes with a Mayan touch; Garifuna cuisine; and street cuisine, with standouts like various types of tostadas, chuchitos (a type of tamale), tortillas filled with beef, rolled-up tacos, buñuelos (fritters), garnachas (fried corn dough with toppings), etc. “Street cuisine or chucherías (like we call them in Guatemala), is very important, because in addition to being delicious and plentiful, it’s associated with religious traditions and celebrations.” Chef Amalia mentioned that among her favorite Guatemalan cuisine dishes are Mayan stews, including jocón, a stew made with chicken, tomatillo and cilantro; and pepián negro, prepared with chicken and pork, in an almost black sauce of dried chilies, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, tortillas, potatoes, green beans and carrots, among others. “Mayan stews are full meals, very easy to prepare and can be served with white rice,” she said. “They have the advantage that you can cook them in advance and keep them in the freezer for those days when you’re very busy.” Although the variety of Latino products available in U.S. markets has increased, Chef Amalia thinks there are always ingredients that are impossible to find, for which she has identified appropriate substitutions. “One of them is frijoles piloyes, a very delicious variety of beans used to prepare piloyada antigüeña, a bean salad with pork, Spanish chorizo, queso fresco and a vinaigrette, among others.” The chef also mentioned among the ingredients she misses from her country a wild herb called zamat, which is used to prepare kaqik, a delicious turkey soup with chilies, annatto and more.

Cuisine During Lent

In Guatemala, since the majority of the population is Catholic, one of the country’s most important celebrations is Holy Week. During this season, throughout this Central American nation, there are various processions representing the Stations of the Cross (the path Jesus followed to the cross). “In Antigua, the Holy Week celebration is impressive,” said Chef Amalia. “They have solemn, dramatic processions where the neighbors make colorful carpets from painted sawdust to cover the streets. Those are days in which they prepare special meals and people eat a lot of chucherías in church porches.” Among traditional Lent dishes, Chef Amalia mentioned some that are very popular: Vizcaína-style cod, tuna or sardine empanadas, pickled vegetables and all kinds of seafood. There are also a large variety of desserts made from seasonal fruits, usually in syrup or brown sugar cane sauce.